Sartaj Singh
The anticipated film adaptation of Aleshea Harris’ masterful play has found a new home! The Cinemaholic can announce that ‘Is God Is’ is in development at MGM. The principal photography for the movie is slated to begin on September 10 in Louisiana and conclude by October 17. The movie was in the works at A24 with Scott Rudin on board in 2018. The project then remained in development hell until MGM acquired it. Harris is the screenwriter, but further details about the film’s cast and crew are still under wraps.
The story centers on two twenty-one-year-old twins with burns and scars over their bodies who travel to the Dirty South to visit their mother on her deathbed. Covered in scars herself, God, their mother, reveals that the fire that burned all three of them was set by their father, called Man. As her dying wish, she asks the twins to commit patricide, and the sisters set off on a journey to exact vengeance. They travel to the Valley to face Man and his new family in an epic tale of tragedy and familial dysfunction with a Spaghetti Western tone enhanced by hip-hop and Afropunk.
Harris is a celebrated playwright who grew up in the South and stepped into the limelight with her performance art piece ‘What to Send Up When It Goes Down.’ The play honors Black bodies and lives lost due to racial violence by incorporating spoken word, song, and audience participation. She wrote ‘Is God Is’ in 2018, and it was directed by Taibi Magar. The play went on to win 3 Obie Awards for directing, playwriting, and performance. Her 2022 play, ‘On Sugarland,’ was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The playwright has received one of the eight Windham-Campbell Literature Prizes and the Helen Merrill Award for playwriting.
The movie adaptation of ‘Is God Is’ will likely hold on to the symbolism, themes, and imagery utilized in the play, although the presence of a message will depend on the creatives involved. “I actually relieve myself of trying to create a message for an audience,” said Harris in an interview. “I think I try to build an experience, a narrative that disrupts cultural mythologies. I’m always thinking about what it means to center Black women and to think about them with complexity, and allow them complexity and nuance, and allow them their rage. That’s probably as close to a message as I would get,” she added.
Louisiana is the perfect filming destination for ‘Is God Is’ since the narrative is primarily set in the South. The state’s unique blend of cultural richness, diverse landscapes, and authentic Southern ambiance will undoubtedly enhance the film’s powerful storytelling. A number of noteworthy Westerns have utilized the supportive filming infrastructure in the state, including ‘Django Unchained,’ ‘The Magnificent Seven,’ ‘Preacher,’ ‘The Highwaymen,’ and ‘Free State of Jones.’
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